A HAUL of fake designer clothing and accessories being sold as genuine on the eBay internet site was seized in a Trading Standards Officers' raid.

Goods advertised as Christian Dior, Prada, Versace, Armani, Gucci, Lacoste and Louis Vuitton were being offered.

But investigators traced the goods to a container in a Paisley back street.

Paisley Sheriff Court heard how a total of 340 items including jackets, shirts, jeans, shoes belts and bags all bearing fashionable brand names were confiscated as well as computer equipment and £1000 in cash when the yard in the town's Abercorn Street, was raided in 2004.

After nearly two years of further investigations, John McIlvogue, 32, was charged with a breach of the Trade Descriptions Act an offence to which the rogue trader pleaded guilty.

The court heard that McIlvogue had been buying goods from dodgy' warehouses in Manchester and Birmingham.

Trading Standards officials were alerted and intercepted a one of his deliveries. They kept him under surveillance for weeks before raiding the industrial unit.

The court heard that if the items seized had been legitimate, they would have had a high street value of around £11,000.

McIlvogue, of St Helens Gardens, Queen's Park Glasgow, claimed he made an average of £5 profit on each item sold on eBay. If he had sold them all, he would have stood to gain between £1500 and £1600.

Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings are now under way against the accused.

A small proportion of the goods seized had been "totally genuine", having been purchased, possibly as seconds or returns by the accused for around £1000.

But it was conceded that McIlvogue had not taken any steps to verify if any of the other items were what they purported to be.

McIlvogue was now employed full-time as a contract manager for a building firm, earning £400 per week, the court heard.

Sheriff Neil Douglas deferred sentence until April 29 and called for background reports.